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Just as it transformed the television industry with original
programs like House of Cards and Orange is the New
Black (both created in-house and released in one
irresistible lump sum), Netflix is hoping to deliver a knockout
punch to traditional feature film distribution.

The streaming giant will exclusively premiere Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend -- a sequel to the
Ang Lee-directed Oscar-winner of the same name -- via Netflix at
no additional charge to members, as well as in select IMAX
theaters, next August 28. Netflix will partner with The
Weinstein Company -- who will produce the film -- on the venture.

While The Green Legend marks the first time Netflix
plans to debut a feature film online, it is also the first of
several films that will be launched according to this strategy,
the company said, “giving consumers and exhibitors around the
world unparalleled flexibility in how, when and where they enjoy
a major motion picture.”

Traditionally, films are released within a “ windowing system,” according to the
The New York Times. This means that Regal
Entertainment, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark -- the three
chains that own a majority of the nation’s theaters -- show
films exclusively for three months before they can
contractually roll out to other venues.

Though major chains might understandably refuse to buck this
system, IMAX leapt at the chance to partner with Netflix --
especially given that The Green Legend’s release date
falls squarely within its wheelhouse, the company said, “at the
end of the summer blockbuster season.”

While the original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon touted
a budget of $23.5 million in 2000 and ultimately took in $176.8
million in North America, The New York Times says the
sequel’s budget will be a “multiple” of that. It is unclear how
Netflix and The Weinstein Company will shoulder costs.

But similar risks have paid off in the past. While some analysts
balked at Netflix’s $100 million
investment in the first two seasons of House of
Cards, for instance, others felt the company recouped costs in a matter of months.

“There is a big world out there, and there are many ways to
exhibit things,” The Weinstein Company’s Harvey Weinstein told
the Times of the boundary-breaking distribution model.
“This is the wave of the future.”

Principal photography for The Green Legend is currently
underway in New Zealand, Netflix said. While the original film’s
star, Michelle Yeoh, will reprise her role, the sequel is being
helmed by well-known Chinese director and martial arts
choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping.